Barbering shears



March 30, 1965 D c. NARDO 3,175,291

BARBERING SHEARS Filed Feb. 5, 1961 16 m i PF 7 Mumm J8! "V y ENVENTUW B Daniel, (I. Ncudo ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,175,291 BARBERING SHEARS Daniel C. Nardo, Wilmington, Del, assignor to Nardo- Warder Enterprises, a company of Delaware Filed Feb. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 87,987 3 Claims. (Cl. 30--254) This invention relates to shears and, more particularly, it relates to angled barbering shears.

This is a continuation-in-part of my application S.N.

819,590, filed on June 11, 1959, now abandoned.

. In cutting and trimming the hair, particularly mens hair, it is exceedingly awkward to work around the ears and the neck lines using the conventional straight scis sors. Even in cutting hair from the top of the head the barber is required to work With his wrist and arm in uncomfortable positions. Further, with straight scissors the barber is normally cutting only with the tips of the blades. Improvement has long been needed.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is the provision of an angled or curved shears. Another objective is the provision of an angled shears the blades of which are rounded. A still further object is to provide a barbering scissors which has blades adjustable to the hair-line angles of the person being serviced. These and other objectives appear hereinafter.

The objects of this'invention are accomplished by the provision of a shears which have blades that extend from the pivot point at an angle of from about 25 to about 30, an angle of about 30 being preferred. The blades usually are pointed and come together at the ends, neither extending appreciably beyond the other. The length of each cutting blade is about 2.0 inches to about 2.5 inches with about 2.25 being preferred. Throughout their length beyond the pivot point and around the pivot point the blade is rounded at the blunt edges and sides, being given, in effect, an air-foil cross-section. This structure affords an eflicient cutting of the hair, for not only can the operator work with his arm and wrist in a convenient and relaxed manner but the air-foil curvature picks up the hair, straightening it and allowing it to fall quickly in the nip of the two operating blades. The operator can produce a high quality haircut in a shorter time than hithertofore possible and he is less fatigued.

This invention will be further understood by reference to the description below and to the drawings, which are not limitative, being given for illustrative purposes. In the drawings:

FIGURES 1 and 1A are plan views of a preferred embodiment of this invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a top view of another preferred embodiment in which the handles have been bent so that the blades and handles are in different planes.

As seen in FIGURE 1, the scissors is made up of two curved elements each of which is equipped with finger loops 13. These loops do not permit the shafts and 31 to come together and one of the loops has on it finger rest 17. The cutting blades 18 and 18 extend sharply at a critical angle, preferably about as appears below.

The shears of this invention are easy to grip and to hold in operation. They can be manipulated with facility and with a minimum of strain or fatigue. The angling of the blades affords a smoothness in guiding the scissors along hair lines about the ears or neck, and the top of the head can be more readily trimmed than previously. The curvature on the outside blades causes the hair to be brushed up or down and outwardly as the shears move up and down, and the taper or air-foil roundness allows a strand of hair so moved to fall naturally into the bite of the blades. Since cutting is along the length of the blades and not limited, as previously, mainly to the tips, faster cutting is effected and resharpening is reduced to a minimum. Further, the angling of the blades permits the cutting oscillation to be parallel to the surfaces being attended and the thinness of the blades effected by the rounding thereof, especially at and around the pivot points, allows the barber or operator to get very close to the skin, much closer than with conventional shears. The cumulative result is that high quality hair-cutting can be effected in shorter times and with less fatigue. Still further, cutting with the tips is no longer required so that accidental pricking or nicking the person being attended is avoided or minimized. Previously, in order to trim adequately, considerable work was needed using the tips of the shears. Frequently the sides of the neck or the cars would be injured by the tips unless the operator was very careful and worked slowly. With the shears of this invention a barber can work quickly without fear of injuring his client.

In the prior art devices which involve angling, the bend starts at the pivot point. While such shears are operative, it was found in shops that while much of the tilting of the barbers arm or wrist was eliminated further improvement was desired. Surprisingly, it was found that by placing the angling or the bending behind the pivot point toward the handles maximum ease of operation is obtained. The angles discussed above are shown in FIG- URE 1.

In that figure, the shears are placed with the blades parallel to the horizontal. The angle B the main axis of the lower handle 31 makes with the horizontal is about 28, and while it may vary as described above, it is preferred that it have a value between about 25 and about 30, and for the vast majority of barbers it appears that about 30 is preferred. If the shears are placed, as in FIGURE 1A, with the lower determinative handle almost in the horizontal or even with the axis of the lower handle 31 in the horizontal, the angle D the main axis of the blades make with the horizontal is also a measure. In FIGURE 1 it is to be noted also that the upper handle 32 is also angled from the horizontal, angle C being less than the angle B of the lower handle 31. The value of angle C is dependent upon the value of angle B since the finger loops 13 will touch. These angles B, C, and D however, in the preferred shears usually are about 25 to about 30. In FIGURE 1 angle B is about 25, and angle D is about 25, while angle C is about 20, for the upper loop with finger rest 17 on it normally rests directly on the lower loop, special stoppers usually not being used.

Irrespective of how one measures the angle, it is to be noted that the angling is behind the pivot center. There is a distance E between the pivot point 24 and the angling of the handle. This distance will depend mainly on the size of the shears, but for shears to be used in cutting hair on men or womens heads, this distance will be in the order of 1 inch with 0.5 inch being preferred.

With reference to FIGURE 1, in handling the preferred shears of this invention the user places the thumb in loop of handle 31, the index and the next finger on the rest 20 and the fourth in loop of 32 and the little finger on finger rest 17. So held, the scissors become placed, for most hands, with the arm extended outwardly and horizontally, automatically with the long axes of the blades in the horizontal and with the short: axes of the blades in the vertical. As the holder bends his elbow or straightens his arm to move the scissors toward or away from him, the sides or short axes of the blades remain vertical. In other Words with ones arm extended and the wrist in its normal position, one holding the preferred shears of this invention finds the shears with the points to his left, the blades positioned vertically and the long axes of the blades parallel to the floor. Stated differently, the user finds that the wrist of his hand hold- Patented Mar. 30, 1965' ing the shears is in effect the center of a circle and he can by rotating his wrist move the shears through arcs in the same plane. Thus, there is no sudden tipping or pointing of the sharp ends toward an ear or the part of the head one is grooming. Thus, the barber can make the shears ride up and down without fear of cutting or nicking anyone. Since the user can maintain this position as he works without Wrist motion, he saves considerable time and energy.

It will be readily noted on consideration that the fingers resting on support 20 or in the loop or on rest 17 extend beyond the shears. These fingers so extended frequently will touch or poke the subject, and always hithertofore they have prevented easy close work. As shown in FIG- URE 2, the shears of this invention overcome this dii'liculty. There the handleshave been bent away from the blades so that the blades and handles are in different planes. As can be seen in FIGURE 2, the axis of the handles 25 make about a angle with the axis of the blades 18, this being designated as angle F. Here again, some variation can be tolerated but in the main the angle will have a value between 3 and with a value between about 5 to about 8 being preferred. This and the other features of the shears of this invention provide a device which makes barbering much more efiicient so that faster and more effective barbering can be attained yet with increased safety.

While the invention has been disclosed herein in connection with certain embodiments and certain structural and procedural details, it is clear that changes, modifications'or equivalents can be used by those skilled in the art; accordingly, such changes within the principles of this invention are intended to be included within the scope of the claims below.

I claim:

1. Shears for barbering comprising a cutting element and at an angle thereto a holding element, said cutting element comprising two moveable, tapered blades with co-acting cutting edges, each blade tapering uninterruptedly to and terminating in one end in a point and at its other end in a broadened section and being pivotably mounted to the other blade at a point about 0.5 to about 1 inch from the end of the broadened section; and said holding element comprising two handles, one for each blade, each handle being integral and pivotable with its respective blade and being adjacent to the other and one handle having a gripfor the thumb of the user and the other having a grip for a finger of the user, the said gri s co-acting to afiord a holding of the said shears by the one and the same hand of the user and eachof the handles being bent starting at the end of the said broadened sectionnearest the handles so that the said broadened section lies betweenthe said pivot point and the said bending point and the angle of the said thumb handle to the long axis of its respective blade being about 30.

Shears for barbering comprising a cutting element and at an angle thereto a holding element, said cutting element comprising two moveable, tapered blades with co-acting cutting edges each blade tapering uninterruptedly to and terminating in one end in a point and at its other end in a broadened section and being pivotably mounted to the other blade at a point about 0.5 to about 1 inch from the end of the broadened section; and said holding element comprising two handles, one for each blade, each handle being integral and pivotable with its respective blade at the said broadened section and being adjacent to the other and one handle having a grip for the thumb of the user and the other having a grip for a finger of the user, the said grips co-acting to aiford a holding of the said shears by the one and the same hand of the user and each of the handles being bent starting at the end of the said broadened section nearest the hanles so that the said broadened section lies between the said pivot point and the said bending point and the angle of the said thumb handle to the long axis of its respective blade being about 30 and the said holding element being in a diiierent plane than and non-parallel to the said cutting element, there being an angle of about 3 to about 15 between the plane of the said cutting element and the plane of the said holding element.

3. Shears in accordance with claim 2 in which the angle between the planes is about 5 to about 8".

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 342,380 5/86 Orahood 30-257 539,525 5/95 Lyon 3 0-254 547,264 10/95 Jennings 30-257 590,528 9/97 Koch 30-266 869,949 11/07 Westerdahl 30-257 880,967 3/08 Broadboods 30-257 973,296 10/10 Peddle 30-257 X 1,330,515 2/20 Bryant 30-257 X 1,779,956 10/30 Zeidler 30-259 7 1,947,964 2/34 Beckman 30-254 X 2,269,587 1/42 Hardin 30-254 2,281,716 5/42 Rudd 30-255 X 2,370,026 2/45 Elia 30-254 2,619,965 12/52 Goldstone 30-131'X 2,640,264 6/53 Sullivan et al. 30-254 X 2,671,266 3/54 Patricelli 30-257 2,758,371 8/56 Marches'ani 30-195 2,760,264 8/56 Javits 30-257 X 2,873,526 2/59 Visconti 30-254 FOREIGN PATENTS 339,273 4/09 France.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, 1a., EDWARD V. BENHAM,

Examiners. 

1. SHEARS FOR BARBERING COMPRISING A CUTTING ELEMENT AND AT AN ANGLE THERETO A HOLDING ELEMENT, SAID CUTTING ELEMENT COMPRISING TWO MOVEABLE, TAPERED BLADES WITH CO-ACTING CUTTING EDGES, EACH BLADE TAPERING UNINTERRUPTEDLY TO AND TERMINATING IN ONE END IN A POINT AND AT ITS OTHER END IN A BROADENED SECTION AND BEING PIVOTABLY MOUNTED TO THE OTHER BLADE AT A POINT ABOUT 0.5 TO ABOUT 1 INCH FROM THE END OF THE BROADENED SECTION; AND SAID HOLDING ELEMENT COMPRISING TWO HANDLES, ONE FOR EACH BLADE, EACH HANDLE BEING INTEGRAL AND PIVOTABLE WITH ITS RESPECTIVE BLADE AND BEING ADJACENT TO THE OTHER AND ONE HANDLE HAVING A GRIP FOR THE THUMB OF THE USER AND THE OTHER HAVING A GRIP FOR A FINGER OF THE USER, THE SAID GRIPS CO-ACTING TO AFFORD A HOLDING OF THE SAID SHEARS BY THE ONE AND THE SAME HENAD OF THE USER AND EACH OF THE HANDLES BEING BENT STARTING AT THE END OF THE SAID BROADENED SECTION NEAREST THE HANDLES SO THAT THE SAID BORDENED SECTION LIES BETWEEN THE SAID PIVOT POINT AND THE SAID BENDING POINT AND THE ANGLE OF SAID THUMB HANDLE TO THE LONG AXIS OF ITS RESPECTIVE BLADE BEING ABOUT 30*. 